The Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate Change opened on September 1 in the capital of the Republic of Korea, gathering nearly 40 cities, to share how cities can support national and global efforts to raise the level of global ambition and ensure a rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement.

Opening session

Mayor Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Republic of Korea and ICLEI President at the opening plenary: “There is only one way that climate change can be dealt with, and that is together.”

Dr Hoesung Lee, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), presenting on how science can enable the policy response to the Paris Agreement: “The largest opportunities for climate change action are in rapidly urbanizing countries, that is developing countries, where infrastructure have not yet set in.”

Sir David King, permanent Special Representative for Climate Change of the UK, presenting why cities and local governments are important in tackling climate change and achieving sustainable development: “If we are really serious about that 1.5 degrees, we need to be more ambitious.”

Mayoral discussion 1: cities implementing climate actions

The first mayoral session gathered ambassadors and champions of the Compact of Mayors and Covenant of Mayors cities and towns who presented their climate action leadership and the progress made in their respective cities.

Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI, facilitating the first mayoral session: “The current national targets fall short of 14 gigatons”.

Amanda Eichel, from Bloomberg Philantropies, presented the newly announced Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy - the merger of the Compact of Mayors and the Covenant of Mayors - highlighting the opportunities brought by the largest coalition for city action.

During the second Mayoral Session, discussions focused on how local governments can contribute to the global agreements, particularly the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda, and define specific requests to national governments in this regard to ensure enabling frameworks are in place to support local climate action.

Paolo Caridi, Chargé d’affaires, a.i., Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea, highlighted the fundamental role played by Europe on the way to sustainable development by providing a vision, frameworks and pilot projects.

Jong-Geel Je, Mayor of Ansan City, Republic of Korea, presented the targets from the city to reduce its energy consumption by 20% and increase the supply from Renewable Energy to 30%.

Abby Binay, Mayor of Makati, Philippines presenting the city’s mitigation plan which expands Greenland in the city and restores waterways to prevent floodings: “There is no city too poor to give and no city too rich to receive”

Taiyong Zhong, vice Mayor of Guiyang Municipal People’s Government, People’s Republic of China presented the city’s ambitions to turn climate change into an opportunity for the green economy with strong targets such as increasing the recycling rate of wastewater to 95% amd reducing GHG emissions by 45% by 2030.

Mayoral discussion 3: towards low-emissions and resilient development

In the last session, local leader explored a variety of local approaches that support low emission resilient development, also considering the wide range of benefits ans using local resources – from local renewables to local expertise that stimulate the urban and regional green economy.

Dr. Neni Moerniaeni, Sp.OG, Mayor of Bontang City, Indonesia presented how the city is using waste to create energy in addition to using more renewable energy.

Steve Skadron, Mayor of Aspen, USA, presented the many strategies of its cities to mitigate and adapt to climate change: “local renewables are practical, profitable and improve the quality of life”

Chin-De Chen, Deputy Mayor of Kaohsiung City Government, Chinese Taipei, invited guests from all over the world to attend the 3rd EcoMobility Festival they will host in 2017 in partnership with ICLEI.